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NHL doesn’t have the stick ability with a mature lime mortar made from quicklime that was slacked with the sand in other words if I tip my trowel upside down the mortar stays on it. Hope that helps

You can use it straight away but it’s easier to use and better to be matured.

Try Googling Nigel Copsey. There are many videos of him on CZcams. He knows a lot about lime mortars and doesn't mind sharing his knowledge with others.

Putting clay in your mortar will make it crack as it will shrink when it drys. 3 sand to 1 lime The sand needs to be well graded washed irregularly shaped sand The lime is a little more tricky best practice is using quick lime (see video) or you can use nhl natural hydraulic lime which is a more user friendly product.

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Natural hydrologic lime sets and will set under water for most sedimentary stone is too hard. Quicklime hardens by absorbing co2 and there isn't any of that under water. I have never heard hind nor hare of rabbit glue!

Is it a very wet area?

@@matthemason7918 not really,can I make it a bit weaker with more sand say 5 sand and 1 lime mix

@@grahamsmall1250 NHL 5 will have a set but if it's just for a garden wall then it's not like your house will be damaged. If you try and make it weaker by putting more sand in the mix it will be 🤮 to work with.

@@matthemason7918 I’m going to return it and get some 3.5 do you know of a good supplier

@@grahamsmall1250 I'm not sure where you live I can tell you where to buy 3.5 in Australia

Yes But if you're hot mixing it is very dangerous as it will spit hot lime at whatever it is facing and what I've told it is best to put large stones of bricks in it so that the lime and sand are mixed correctly.

Hi David I try and answer all sensible questions on here. You can also find me on Instagram @1matthemason I'm super glad it's helpful, all the best Mat.

Hi mate you've turned your airlime into an hydraulic lime. You can just mix up a small amount of sand and quick lime and use it when it's still hot for fixing but be careful it gets very hot and never grout with it as quicklime expands and will push walls apart. Not that I found out this the hard way🤔😉

After saying that this recipe was used in France, I can’t help but ask if you have heard of outdoor rendering, which in France is called 100 year rendering or something like that. Commonly used for leveling farmhouse stone walls. They say that if the technology is followed correctly, it will last for a hundred years. I don’t know how true this statement is, but understanding that there can be more than enough nuances in the configuration of a lime mortar that can influence many factors, I wouldn’t be surprised if similar recipes exist.

@@StanOwden Never. Mainly because translation is difficult, I think(I'm sure). The normal way to protect a stone wall (bulk stones) was to cover it with a lime based plaster (un enduit a la chaux) and to renew it every 5 to 10 years with a milk-lime (un lait de chaux). And of course it can last a hundred years. The same way as everywhere. Was it the point of your question ? France may look very small, it is, but geological differences are wide, in less than 100 km you're in a different country. Technics and practices are like that. ;-)

Hi Matt I left Oxford in 1997 where in Oxfordshire are you as I've still got some contacts

thanks for the reply. I'm near Banbury :).

@@matthewcox4146 my mum grow up in Banbury and I grow up in Hampton Poyle. I did my apprenticeship with a company called A.P.S. in Oxford. My advice would be to take a look at one of Facebook's groups called Stonemasons guild and ask on there I'm positive that they'll help you out all you need do is ask.

Goat hair was just as commonly used

@@richardgrimbleby7853 yep; I suppose it depends what access you had to each animal.

@@florentinalily hi it's not commonly known but goat hair was sometimes used it is a little coarser thanks for your reply

Well the main and tail are really good for render/plaster work but it's not the best for repointing brick and stone work. If you know anyone with blond hair that is getting cut I can personally say it works very well in the mix and stops the pointing from cracking although you still need to keep the joints damp for over a week.

​@@richardgrimbleby7853all well nearly all hair can be used the whiter the better and straight is better than curly

Um yeah Jo exactly how much do you know about rusty cramps 🤔😉

@@matthemason7918 I'll ave u know I know a well seasoned stonemason who taught me alot! 😊

My advice is that the building should be using the original style building materials and not to change it as this can cause problems with air flow and mould. If you start to use modern materials in old buildings then locking in moisture is a real problem, old buildings need to breathe. Sorry I can't be more specific but remember you are the custodian of that property one of many that has been and if you treat the building with care many more after you.

Hi JD keep looking is my advice, where on this earth are you? If you're in the UK try rose of Jericho but I now live in Tasmania so I'm not sure you'd find that information helpful.

Hi shpendi rice water is mostly starch so I'm led to believe which will harden when the air comes into contact. I'm rapidly getting out of my comfort zone so I think I best leave it there.

Sands are different all over so if I were you I'd take a look at your local builders/landscape yard and see for yourself. Where are you?

@@matthemason7918 Why are some videos of joint replacement showing white mortar in sharp contrast with what is existing?

@@gary24752 because lime is white the colour comes from the sand. You can use an oxide or leave it for the years of time to tone it down.

Officially the answer is yes but as long as the bucket has an airtight lid then it will be totally fine as it only carbonates because of CO2 (goes off) in the air.

To be perfectly honest I'm not an expert on solid lime plaster in other words I've given it a go and it's hard work as the more you fiddle around with it the more cracks appear as it cures. I have used it still hot with hair in it but that's for sacrificial lime vendors to prevent further salt damage lower down on the outside of buildings. Forced action and pan roller are two names for the same thing sorry I couldn't be more help.

What colour is the sand you're using? Lime will be white unless the sand has a strong influence or you put an oxide in it.

@@matthemason7918 I just want a white mortar like seen with the Victorian red imperial brick.. so whatever sand I would need for that???

It's hard to know for sure what you need without seeing it are you on Instagram?

Are you looking to do tuck pointing? Or brick replacement?

@@matthemason7918 both really.. maybe is better use normal stuff.. rake out and repoint with white Or lay and point with both ideally

„Cut trough the center of the joint with a…“ fucking read the description

@@roberthodel4448 lol there's nothing in the description?

@@roberthodel4448 🤫😉😂

Hi villa first things first the sand I use is from Tasmania maybe a tad far for you to order. A good tip is to rub sand between your fingers and if they are mucky and the sand gives a smudge stain then the sand has silt and clay in and is no good. Sand needs to be well graded you could try and google rose of Jericho for sand. Don't point anything when it's still hot as it is still expanding and will blister. As long as the bucket isn't going to melt you can take it out any time but be wear it hurts if it gets on your skin. And finally yes it does go hard in the bucket over many months/years just dig it out and knock it up with a paddle mixer. Hope that helps

@@matthemason7918Hi, really appreciate your help and I’m very grateful! Best wishes for the future Villa!

@@avfczoff up the manor

I would ask about, hit the phone's see what your local diy, garden centre or landscapers have.

@@matthemason7918 I've done all that. They don't seem to have a clue what I'm asking for. Found a supplier in Cornwall, Cornish Lime, but huge palletised delivery cost.

@@JB-xo1bd that's no good what about limestone quarries they need limestone to burn to make quick lime.

In a word no Quick lime is what you get when you burn limestone or shells and turns into lime putty that is sometimes called a air lime this is because it draws CO2 from the air as it cures whereas NHL or natural hydraulic lime uses a chemical reaction to set.

@@matthemason7918 Thanks mat. My name is matt, I'm also a mason. This is one area I never learned and was never taught. Seems like its mostly used for historic restorations.

@@bogey19018 alright Matt, yeah I was looking at my old college folders from 1990 and I was being taught about 12-3-1 mixes which are just a weak/crap cement mix. I'm happy to pass on my knowledge to those who want to know, give me a follow on Instagram @1matthemason I've got other posts up there and it's a little easier to answer your questions if you have any.

The term hot lime is a little miss leading here in Australia they call both crisps and chips "chips" and distinguish between the two by calling one hot chips and the other cold chips. It gets very confusing when hot chips go cold, they become cold hot chips. This is the same as hot mixing lime. Fixing while the lime is still hot or most likely a little bit warm is totally different from when the mortar has had time to slake in a bucket but both have been hot mixed. What I'm trying to say is that it's the process that gives it its name. Most of the time when I'm fixing I use putty as it's cheeper but they are different. (I hope that makes sense!)

@@matthemason7918 now I want fish and chips lol thank you

The thing with adding pigments or oxide they may not be UV stable. If done at the right time it will go a deep orange colour done too late and it won't change from the white or will be patchy.

Maybe I did this for a friend so that it could be used as a training video. Is there anything you would like explaining or showing best practice how to do if you have any questions I'm happy to help.

@@matthemason7918 its good to see traditional methods and good explanation. I really enjoy great content vids. Hopefully will be repointing our 200year old community pub very soon. Also reslating the roof. Interesting times ahead for us volunteers.

Give me a follow on Instagram at 1matthemason I've got many other examples of my work and why I'm doing it the way I am. Hope it helps and good luck with the repointing and slating. I always say fix the roofs and gutters first then the sky surfaces and then the pointing.

Cheers mate lime won't kill you soon as look at you, it will on the other hand burn your lungs as it's very Alkaline so my advice is don't breath it in but saying that feel free to wear a mask as it's all personal choice. I've seen horse hair that's well over 200 years old in lime mortar outside on an old church and it's still doing a job. Man made fibres don't feel as good as they clump together and a pain in the backside. As for cloves if lime gets into the hands and you don't have hands like me it will eat into the skin. I keep my hands dry and at the end I wash them and most importantly moisturise after. I must make a point of both the concerns in the following video's if I ever get round to making any more.

@@matthemason7918 Will dog hair work the same? I reckon we can get heaps of those from dog groomers

@@gangadin2873 human hair from the hairdresser?

@@matthemason7918 He means that animal hair degrades in unset mortal, during storage.

More of an engineered sand ie. irregular shaped sand without the rounded grain of a beach or river sand.

@@matthemason7918 For cement, I hear some people really prefer the rounded grain of river sand - Is that sensible? Didn't make sense to me -but maybe I am missing something.

@@gangadin2873 the cement is the binder and the strength. Lime is the binder and the irregular shaped grains of the sand builds the lime mortars strength.

@@matthemason7918 further detail - engineered sand is created by crushing rock. Can be from granite and quartzite most often and many other rock types depending on local geology. As a crushed material there will be all broken faces on the grains creating the irregular shapes. In addition the product will have a range of sized grains all the way down to dust. The combination of angular grains with a range of sizes means tight packing. This means the lime binder does not have to fill large gaps. River sands can often be missing size fractions resulting in poor packing. That combined with round edges means the grains can roll out resulting in poor strength.

@@BMG6519 yep you are spot on its the engineered and well graded sand that's best. It does however depend on the size of the joint where the bell curve will be big joints that you might see in rubble walling will need the bell curve to go towards the courser or larger particles end of the scale and vice versa if it's a 2 or 3mm joint the bell curve will need to move to the finer end. But I have a hunch that you'd be able to explain it far better than I.

That’s very kind of you to say so Jackie and yes we moved and things are going really well for us it was filmed in 2008 so there is no chance Horatio is getting carried like that any more.

@@matthemason7918 I am moving to Tassie soon! is it really as cold as they say?

@@CorB-qh4co hi, well I spent all winter working outside wearing shorts it is an oceanic climate so can change very quickly but it's similar to Bordeaux France.

Well Ian I go Suba diving and we bumped into 50 humpback whales last weekend in 13°c water if you love nature Tassie is the place for you. I can surf in the morning and climb onto a snow capped mountain in the afternoon. The other week in our 3 DAY lockdown I cycled to the bike park that's less than 5k from my place and walked along Howrah beach to get to the supermarket.

Mat the beaches are not that good and the Weather is very much like English weather bloody cold mate

I'm not saying that they are the best in the world but they are definitely in the top one.